Overview
- The volunteer-led audit, published Tuesday, surveyed 1,659 stores across 11 chains after fieldwork from February 7 to 21 and found plastic pervasive across aisles.
- Bottled drinks account for nearly 40% of single-use plastics, and bottled water sales rose 3.3% in 2025, running counter to the legal goal to halve plastic bottles by 2030.
- Common produce is still pre-packaged at high rates, with 60% of conventional items wrapped and 91% of organic items packaged, and about half of supermarkets now sell fresh pre-cut vegetables in plastic.
- Bulk options are shrinking and reuse is rare, with stores offering bulk falling from 57% in 2023 to 38% in 2026 and only 0% to 10% of locations joining reuse schemes.
- Retailers point to recycling drives and pilot deposit systems, yet only Biocoop has stopped selling water in plastic bottles, while the report says the 2025 cut in packaging has not been achieved.